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Dusk was arriving as we lifted off from the runway and immediately swung on to our course down the Midlands. It was much darker before we sighted the Thames, and Henley and Twyford were covered by the evening mist along the river valley. As a final memory of England, the Reading Gas works caused no lump in the throat as we peered in the evening haze for a sight of the Channel. Chichester and the Isle of Wight soon passed by, and then across the Channel to Le Havre at the mouth of the Seine. We picked up the river and followed it's twists and turns down to Paris. It was dark by now, but flying low over the rooftops of Paris one could see the Eiffel Tower pointing upwards. Using the tower as a landmark, the target was soon located just as the high level bombers arrived. As navigator I was also the bomber aimer, and by the time I had got to my position to drop the bombs the target was covered by smoke and dust and hard to identify. Reggie soon spotted a tall building in the factory area and with a cry of "Turning on target" swung the Wellington round on our first run. It was then that I recognised the target. The briefing officer had been quite right. There was the tall building, plain enough. What he hadn't mentioned was that there, situated on the top, were three light flak guns. These opened up as we flashed over them diverting my eyes from the target. "Missed" I called to Reggie. "We'll try again" replied Reggie, turning out over Paris. This time, everything was clearer and as we ran towards the target the streams of tracer from the light flak guns converged on us. My thumb was poised on the bomb release button, when suddenly it felt as if a giant hand had halted the aircraft in mid air. Instinctively I pressed the bomb release just as a cry of "Fire!" came from the Wireless Operator. I looked back to see the fuselage of the bomber filled with thick smoke. I looked across to Reggie at the controls. He motioned me with his hand to go aft. I made my way to where I could see the blaze. A shell had fractured the hydraulic system and a spray of burning oil was directed on the fabric covering of the Wellington's fuselage. The slipstream from outside was acting as a pair of bellows, the only thing I could do was to tear off my flying gloves and beat out the fiercest of the flames. Armed with the fire extinguisher I mounted guard with well aimed jets, whilst Reggie took us out of the target area. We were, of course, trailing a stream of black smoke behind us, which was the signal for every flak gun in the vicinity to turn on us. When satisfied I reported to Reggie that the fire was out. He was having a job flying the aircraft as, due to loss of the hydraulic fluid, the wheels and flaps were hanging down which reduced our speed to a crawl. The aircraft was wallowing like a dead whale as we retraced out steps northward along the Seine. The glad sight of the English Channel was coupled by the news from the wireless operator that our aerial had been shot away. Reggie was finding it hard to keep height, but with our fingers crossed we hopped the waves and by a supreme effort lifted up to rise above the south coast cliffs. It took some time over England to discover our position, but the years of previous flying enabled us to recognise Petersfield and the it was by easy steps of Alton and leaving Basingstoke well to the right that we at last reached Reading. Reading was covered by low cloud, and only by coming as low as we dared by skimming the roof tops could we identify the town. After narrowly missing several churches we spotted the Reading General Railway Station. Fearing we had not enough height to clear the Chiltern Hills round Henley, we turned and flew along the railway line towards Didcot and followed the lines northward into the Midlands and thence by inspiration to our base at Elsham Wolds. The following night, taking our crew with us, we were back in Reading at a pub called The Mitre in West Street, where we learned that a low level bomber had just missed knocking the chimney pots off that morning...! Postscript The operation featured in this account took place on the night of the 1/2nd April 1942. and the target was the Ford Motor factory at Poissy in Paris, France which was manufacturing motor vehicles for the German armed forces. 103 Squadron detailed 12 Wellingtons and crews for this raid. W/O Fulbrook took off from Elsham Wolds in Vickers Wellington DV611 at 19:52. The crew for the operation consisted of :- W/O R J Fulbrook RAF Sgt F O Eivers RAF W/O S W Yarker RAF P/O S Cox RAF Sgt R F Tidmarsh RAF Sgt R Reid RAF They landed safely at Elsham Wolds after an eventful flight home at 01:30. Light and heavy flak had been heavier than expected and four other Wellingtons from the Squadron had also been damaged although all returned to base. Other returning crews claimed accurate bombing but this was not confirmed by subsequent photographic evidence. A follow up raid was mounted on the next night which was considered much more successful. W/O Fulbrook and W/O Yarker successfully completed their tour and were both awarded the DFC. W/O Fulbrook became an instructor with the 103 Squadron Conversion Flight when the unit was converting from Wellingtons to the Handley Page Halifax. He was killed when Halifax W1243 overshot the runway on landing at Elsham Wolds and burnt out on the 22nd September 1942. Five trainee aircrew were also killed in the crash. He is buried at Twyford church cemetery in near Reading. W/O Yarker was later promoted to Flight Lieutenant and survived the war. He joined a civil airline as a navigator but had to give up flying due to wartime injuries. He moved into business and became manager of a factory in Reading. In 1961 he was forced to retire due to ill health and took up writing as a profession. He was also an active member of various clubs for the disabled in Henley and Reading and for a period was a member of Henley Borough Council. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Derek Sadler and Mike Elliot for providing this item. | |